Bloggy peeps, I need some advice. There’s a 10 year old boy in my life who is dying for a skateboard.
I am nervous about this whole concept for a couple of reasons. First, I don’t know anything about skateboards. My childhood experience included many trips to the ER due to spills on toboggans, bicycles and falling up the stairs, but I have no experience with skateboards.
Second, we have a very steeply pitched driveway that dumps into the road at a spot well-hidden from oncoming drivers by a giant cedar hedge. I don’t worry so much about the 10 year old here, but I do worry about the four year old who THINKS he’s a 10 year old.
I don’t want to be overprotective. A skateboard is really not that different from a bike. Is it? But how do you get a good one and am I insane if I make him wear elbow, wrist AND knee pads in addition to a helmet? (And, erm, a full suit of bubble wrap?)
I have some serious misgivings, but I want to be convinced. Help me, bloggy peeps. Tell me what I need to know to make Tristan’s dream come true!
I say “go for it,” and get him a skateboard and then let him know he’s only to use it at the skateboard park or the flat concrete at the school near you until he learns all the tricks of the trade. I don’t see how a skateboard is any more dangerous than anything else really. When he is first learning, he won’t be going fast enough to even warrant a helmet. Stella has recently taken trying to learn on her Dad’s board, but we haven’t instituted any protective gear yet. It takes so long just to learn how to do a basic balance.
I’ll bring the 12 yr old guru over. He’s been on his since he was 4. My opinion is start out in FULL gear whether he’s sitting on it or riding it.Make it a non-negotiable that if he looks at the board he is suitably attired.Helmet, knee pads and wrist protectors. Top of the World on Rideau Street is the best place in Ottawa to get geared up.
Until he demonstrates his skill all riding should be done totally away from cars. I am to the point now where I will let mine go on the road unattended. He knows& follows my rules to the letter because he knows he’ll lose his privilege if he doesn’t.
We got our 7-year-old son a skateboard for his birthday. We went cheapsies on the board – $30 at Toys R Us – but invested in a good helmet from On Deck (on Bentley off Merivale). They were great at getting my future boarder fitted with a helmet. (Bonus – On Deck is a small independent started by a Manotick native when he was just a teenager). We do our skateboarding at local playgrounds, basketball courts, around the school – lots of safe (read: no cars and flat surfaces) spaces.
The guys at On Deck will not over sell you, they can start you out on a decent board. The cheap ones don’t last at all and the wheels are harder to control….my 12 year old just started long boarding…..sigh, it never ends!
This is probably too late.. but you should get him a Longboard! they are easier to ride.. more fun.. and you can easily transition the dynamics of it to snowboarding, surfing, kiteboarding, wakeboarding..
just my 2cents…
ive been boaridng for about 6 years